This was the script the Dodgers were envisioning.
An early lead from the lineup. A solid, albeit short, outing from their starter. And then a parade of scoreless innings from the bullpen.
It might not be an orthodox October plan, but it’s the one best suited to the Dodgers’ banged-up pitching staff and shorthanded starting rotation.
And on Wednesday night at Citi Field, in a pivotal Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, they executed it to ruthless perfection in an 8-0 win over the New York Mets, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven set with their best two pitchers lined up for the next two days.
Wednesday was not an enthralling game, defined more by sloppy defense and wasted chances than any sort of October magic on a brisk night in the Queens.
It had no late-game dramatics, either, continuing an NLCS still waiting for its signature moment.
But to manager Dave Roberts and the Dodgers — who have shut out their opponents in four of the last five games — that was just fine.
The team capitalized on a pair of Mets mistakes in the second inning, scoring two important runs for a quick 2-0 lead. They watched Walker Buehler tiptoe in and out of danger over four scoreless innings, the right-hander managing to get enough swing-and-miss to compensate for his spotty command.
Then, as Kiké Hernández doubled their advantage with a two-run homer in the sixth, they turned the game over to their trustworthy relief corps, getting five scoreless innings to go back in front in this series.
Now, the Dodgers are in position to wrap up the pennant in relatively short order, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (coming off five scoreless innings in Game 5 of the NLDS) and Jack Flaherty (coming off seven scoreless innings in Game 1 of this NLCS) on deck to take the mound Thursday and Friday, respectively.
In both of those games, their plan will remain the same.
Do what they did Wednesday, and ride the bullpen to the doorstep of the World Series.
Buehler’s start was a grind. Only 51 of his 90 pitches found the zone. In less than half of his at-bats did he deliver a first-pitch strike. The result: two walks, a hit batter, and constant traffic on the bases.
Then again, high-stress situations are where Buehler has thrived in his postseason career (last week’s six-run clunker against the San Diego Padres aside).
And on Wednesday, he spun his way out of danger, fooling Mets hitters with a curveball that got whiffs on six of seven swings, including an inning-ending strikeout of Francisco Lindor in the second with the bases loaded; a sweeper that got whiffs on six of nine swings, including an inning-ending strikeout of J.D. Martinez with two aboard in the third; and 18 total swings-and-misses overall, the most in the first four innings of a postseason game since 2003.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers offense struck for two early runs in the second inning with the help of shoddy Mets defense.
After Max Muncy led off with a walk, Teoscar Hernández hit a swinging bunt in front of the plate that catcher Francisco Alvarez unwisely threw to second, his throw getting away from teammate Jose Iglesias to allow both runners to reach safely.
Starting pitcher (and Gold Glove finalist) Luis Severino didn’t help his own cause, either, misplaying a pair of comebackers near the mound that allowed one run to score, and set up Tommy Edman for a sacrifice fly later in the inning.
The Dodgers extended their lead on three big swings. In the sixth, Kiké Hernández battled in a two-strike count before lifting a two-run home run out to left. In the eighth, Shohei Ohtani snapped a two-for-15 skid with a towering three-run blast inside the right foul pole, sending swaths of the 43,883-person crowd to the exits with his second home run in the postseason. In the ninth, Muncy also went deep, completing a night in which he reached base in all five trips to the plate (he also had three walks and a single).
All that production, however, proved to be superfluous.
After the Dodgers rested their top relievers in a Game 2 loss, they called upon them early to lock down their Game 3 victory.
Michael Kopech, the closest thing the Dodgers had to a designated closer at the end of the regular season, was first out of the bullpen in the fifth inning, retiring the side in order despite a couple of warning-track scares.
Ryan Brasier briefly faced trouble in the sixth, but skirted a two-on, one-out jam with an inning-ending double play.
Blake Treinen, the team’s most trusted relief arm at the moment, worked a clean seventh inning, seemingly leaving the eighth and ninth for Daniel Hudson and Evan Phillips.
But after the second-deck drives from Ohtani and Muncy (who tied the Dodgers’ all-time postseason home run record with the 13th of his career), all the Dodgers wound up needing was two mop-up innings from Ben Casparius instead.
Wednesday brought the Dodgers other reasons for optimism.
Mookie Betts, who once again took hundreds of pregame swings in the batting cage after entering the game with a .192 postseason batting average, reached base twice.
Will Smith, who was slumping even worse and dropped to the No. 7 spot in the batting order, had two hits and a walk.
Gavin Lux and Freddie Freeman were also healthy enough to be in the starting lineup, with the latter recording a single and making two key picks at first base.
And after 48 nervous hours following their Game 2 loss, the Dodgers are just two wins away from their first World Series berth since 2020.
